Former Asbury Park resident charged in 1992 murder of 12-year old girl

It's a cold case that's now thawed with the announcement from Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni that a former Asbury Park resident now living in North Carolina has been charged in the 1992 killing of a 12-year old girl in Neptune Township.

The woman, who was 13-years old at the time of the killing and is of course now 40-years old, is living in Henderson, North Carolina.

She's been charged with Aggravated Manslaughter for the killing of Quiana Dees in the early morning hours of May 2, 1992, when the little girl was discovered unconscious and clinging to life in a vacant wooded lot on Washington Avenue in Neptune Township.

The 7th grade girl had left her Asbury Park apartment the night before.

She was found suffering from a head wound later determined to be caused by a gunshot, and was ultimately pronounced dead the following day.

The case which went cold has continued to be investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and local law enforcement agencies since the girl's death 26-years ago.

As a result of a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Cold Case Unit, and members of the Asbury Park, Neptune Township and Henderson, North Carolina Police Departments, the homicide complaint was issued against the former Asbury Park resident.

She remains detained in North Carolina, pending her extradition back to New Jersey to face this charge.

Due to the defendant being 13 years of age at the time of the 1992 killing, and not an adult at the time for purposes of criminal prosecution, the charge has been issued as a juvenile delinquency complaint.

Her name is not permitted to be released to the public due to the requirements of confidentiality in all juvenile proceedings, as are any other details regarding the case which are prohibited from disclosure and cannot be released.

She faces a maximum term of incarceration of 4 years if convicted.

All future proceedings in the matter will be held in Monmouth County Family Court, Juvenile Division.

The juvenile statutes in effect at the time of the crime preclude the possibility of waiver of this case to adult criminal court.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to call Detective John Leibfried of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-800-533-7443 or Detective Eric Chunn of the Neptune Township Police Department at 732-988-8000.

The case is assigned to Assistant Prosecutor Meghan Doyle, Director of the Cold Case and Fatal Motor Vehicle Unit.

This has been the 7th previously unsolved homicide which has resulted in an arrest or otherwise solved in the past three years since Prosecutor Gramiccioni made cold case homicide reviews an office priority.